140 14 Habits of Highly Effective Disciples
Encourage Application
- Divide the class into three groups. Assign the following questions:
Group 1: What do we learn from Jesus’ response to the thankful
leper? (Luke 17:15–19). How does our thankfulness affect our rela-
tionship with God?
Group 2: How does our thankfulness impact our relationships
with others?
Group 3: How does our thankfulness touch our own souls?
Ask a spokesperson from each group to report their answers to the
entire class. - Ask for volunteers to respond to today’s lesson by stating some of
the things they will strive to do in the coming week to remember
God’s benefits and to thank him for them. Ask them to explain how
they plan to live out their thankfulness.
Teaching Plan—Lecture and Questions
Connect with Life
- Read this illustration: Brent was seriously ill. His friends and family
prayed for him often. He prayed for himself often. After a year of
battling the illness, he received the good news that he had been
cured.
Ask, Based on your knowledge of human behavior, do you think
Brent and his friends and family spent more time petitioning God,
or thanking God? When in prayer, do we usually spend more time in
petition, or in praise and thanksgiving? What would happen to us
and to others if we practiced thankfulness as habitually as we ask for
the favor of God and others?